Method and apparatus for storing fabric webs fed in a spread state



Nov. 20, 1962 A. MEIERWINDHORST 3,064,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC WEBS Filed July 17, 1957 FED IN A SPREAD STATE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR: A Lyn/sf Meier "Mint/hoist 1962 A. MEIER-WINDHORST 3,064,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC WEBS FED IN A SPREAD STATE Filed July 17, 1957 6 Sheaves-Sheetv 2 INVEN TOR flue usr Mela Wmumms r A rroRNE/S 1962 A. MEIER-WINDHORST 3,064,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC WEB-S FED IN A SPREAD STATE Filed July 17, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 fiyz. WWI/1.

INVENTOR. flueusr Msnsx- WINDHORST" RAMA A TTORNEYS 1962 A. MEIER-WINDHORST 3,064,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC: WEBS FED IN A SPREAD STATE Filed July 17, 1957 6 SheetsSheet 4 I NVENTOR. flueusT M WINDHORST A TTORNE Y5 1962 A. MEIER-WINDHORST 3,064,914

7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC WEBS FED IN A SPREAD STATE Filed July 17, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INvENToR. flueusr MEIER- WINDHORST MAAAQQV AFFORNE 15 1962 A. MEIER-WINDHORST 3,064,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STORING FABRIC WEBS FED IN A SPREAD STATE Filed July 17, 1957 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENToK Hueusr MEIER Wmuuoresr M g 3.- A.

ATT RNEYS ilnited fine 3,064,914 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STGRHNG FAB- RIC WEBS FED IN A SRREAD STATE August Meier-Windhorst, 26 Gellertstrasse, Hamburg 39, Germany Filed July 17, 1957, Ser. No. 672,429 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-5519) The invention relates to a method for continuously storing without stretching webs guided in spread state, especially fabric webs to be heat, steam, wet or otherwise treated, in which the web is always carried along on a circular guide so that a circulating web ring coil is formed by several or a large number of layers of the continuously advancing web, from which coil the web, after running onto the coil from the outside and passing through all the layers thereof from the outside to the inside, is led off to the interior of the ring coil. The novel feature consists in that the ring coil is guided exclusively by an internal circular guide and the difference in speed between the outer and inner layers of the coil is compensated by relieving the web of tension while it is running from the outer towards the inner side of the coil.

The storage of webs guided in spread state is known per se, but nevertheless presents numerous difficulties when a number of requirements have to be met, such as running free from creases, Without stretching, having small contact surfaces with the guiding elements and the like.

The most favorable storage as regards space requirements and according to experience is undoubtedly obtained when the web is guided on a circular guide in such a manner that a ring coil is formed by several or a large number of layers of the web continuously running through the apparatus. In this method of storage, however, the difficulty arises that the individual layers of the ring coil run at different speeds when circulating. If, as is generally the case, the web is fed from the outside and guided inwards, the speed of the web forming the outer layers of the coil differs so much from that of the web forming the inner layers thereof that considerable tension and crease formation occurs in the portion of the Web forming the coil.

It has been endeavoured to overcome this objection by allowing the ring coil to run between an outer and an inner roller guide, that is it has been sought to compensate the difference in speed by mechanical action on the outer layers, for example, by exerting a braking effect. It has, however, been found that this method of speed compensation does not attain its object because perfect compensation of speed is prevented by the fact that the portions of the web in the ring coil, even when guided from the outside to the inside, are compressed to such an extent that constant adhesion friction occurs between the individual layers so that finally all relative movement and consequently speed compensation is prevented.

It has now been discovered that these objections can be overcome and the differences in speed compensated in a perfect manner if, according to the invention, the ring coil is guided exclusively on its inner side and the difference in speed between the outer layers and inner layers compensated by relieving the tension of the web running inwards. This manner of storing establishes the necessary conditions for maintaining the web without tension and free from folds or creases while it is being subjected to continuous treatment. At the same time it is possible,

as will be hereinafter described, to store any desired length of Web so that this method can be employed as desired for the storage of small, medium and large quantities of material. The expression small storage quantities should not be interpreted as meaning that it is a question of very short web lengths, but of such web lengths which it was hitherto not possible to store at all in a satisfactory manner when using the ring coil method.

The compensation of the difference in speed by relieving (the tension can be supplemented or assisted by a uniform upsetting effect distributed over the entire periphery of the ring coil. This supplementary or strengthened relief of tension by upsetting without forming folds or creases is preferably attained by establishing a certain ratio between the thickness of the ring coil and the diameter of the circular guide. This ratio between the mean diameter of the ring coil and the thickness of the ring coil can be at least 50:1 and is preferably 100: 1.

A suitable choice of ratio between the mean diameter and the thickness of the ring coil leads, however, to exceptionally large dimensions for the circular guide in the case of long web lengths. Thus an increase in the thickness of the ring coil of only 1 millimeter means an increase of 50 to 100' millimeters in the diameter of the circular guide.

It has been found that in this case an expedient measure can be introduced if the detensioning of the web is supplemented or assisted by supporting the ring coil only at points preferably situated at uniform distances apart and travelling with the coil. In this manner the longest lengths of webs which come into consideration can be stored without difficulty. Furthermore the tension relief can be supplemented or assisted if the spacing of the points at which the ring coil is supported during its circular travel is in a certain ratio to the thickness of the ring coil so that the inwardly running coil is de-tensioned to such an extent that bulges are formed in the gaps between the points at which the ring coil is supported but without producing folds or creases.

This ratio between the spacing of the points supporting the coil guided along a circular path and the thickness of the ring coil is preferably at least 1:1. If the ratio is increased the bulges become larger and the storage capacity greater without affecting the guiding with little tension and free from folds.

The new storage method according to the invention offers an ideal possibility of fulling or upsetting webs, especially webs of plastic material. This is attained by making the diameter of the ring coil so large in relation to the ring coil thickness that the shortening of the path of travel is accentuated, the ring coil being guided over a follower rod chain with cylindrical carrying and supporting surface almost free from gaps. Consequently the increased fulling or upsetting effect is attained without forming folds or creases.

The term fulling or upsetting effect is used throughout the specification and claims to describe the shortening of the length of a fabric which causes the weft threads to move somewhat closer to each other.

Further details of the method according to the invention and of the storage apparatus for carrying out the same will become apparent from the following description of the drawings which show by way of example several forms of construction of such apparatus. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a storage chamber in vertical section;

FIG. 1a shows a different embodiment in vertical section.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing diagrammatically the concentric arrangement of three circular guides;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through a storage chamber with roller band as circular guide.

FIG. 5 is a section on line VV of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a vertical section through a storage chamber with divided roller band as circular guide.

In the construction illustrated in FIG. 1 the web 1 to be treated enters the closed chamber 3 through an aperture 2. At 4 it runs on to a ring coil 5 composed of a .plurality of layers of web. The guide rollers 6 can be driven by any suitable means, if desired. Being diverted around the roller 7, the web of material leaves the circular path and is first guided into the interior space of the circular guide 5a whence it runs out laterally over a stationary guide roller 3. The guide roller 8 is, as shown in FIG. 2, set at an angle of 45 to the roller '7 of the circular guide over which the web runs off the ring .coil so that the end of the web, in running off the coil,

is deflected through an angle of 90 and passes out of the chamber 3 laterally without hindrance.

The number of guide rollers is preferably greater in the upper part of the circular guide, so that the weight of the circulating web layers is distributed over a larger supporting surface in this region and the individual angles of deflection are only slight.

If, in special cases, it is desired to do away with roller contact altogether, an endless carrier band 9 can be introduced in the circular guide as indicated in FIG. 1a.

.This endless carrier band 9 is then maintained under adjustable tension by a stretching device. It is apparent that in the illustrated construction the ratio between the frnean diameter of the ring coil 5 and the thickness of the ring coil is 100:1, and that the ratio between the spacing of the guide rollers 6 and the thickness of the ring coil 5 is at least equal to and more than 1:1.

In FIG. 3 three circular guides are provided concentrically arranged one within the other. The oncoming web 10 first runs over the ring coil 12 formed on the outer circular guide 11, is then conducted therefrom at 13 on to the ring coil 15 formed on the middle circular guide 14 and is then conducted from the guide 14 at 16 to the ring coil 18 formed on the inner circular guide 17 from which it is led off at 19 to the deflecting roller 20 whence it runs off laterally in the manner described in connection with the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The arrangement shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3 represents nothing more than a triplication of the apparatus according to FIGS. 1 and 2 with a considerably greater storage capacity resulting therefrom. The circular guides can also be arranged to rotate as a whole, in which case it would suflice if one of the circular guides is rotatable as a whole.

The form of construction of the storage chamber illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 comprises an arrangement wherein a carrier band and roller guide are combined to form a rotary conveyor rod band 21. The web 22 is introduced into the storage chamber 24 in exactly the same way as in the case of the storage chamber shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, through an aperture 23 and at 25 it runs onto the ring coil 26 formed on the rotary conveyor rod band 21, is then run off over the roller 27 and guided to the deflecting roller 28 by which it is swung through an angle of 90 and guided off laterally from the chamher. As can be seen from the drawing, the conveyor .rod band is guided around the guide rollers 29 so that the end of the web running off the ring coil can pass unimpeded to the deflecting roller 28.

In the form of construction shown in FIG. 6, the arrangement is substantially the same as that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and consequently the same references are used for similar parts. The conveyor band is, however, divided into two parts 30 and 31, the upper part 30 being located above and the lower part 31 below the material run-off. The conveyor band 30 is guided over rollers 32 and the lower conveyor band 31 over rollers 33.

FIG. 6 likewise shows how, owing to the spacing of the rods of the conveyor rod band, portions of the ring coil bulge inwards between every two rods, the bulging of the inner portions of the ring coil being the greatest.

From FIGS. 4 and 6 it can also be seen that the guiding of the conveyor rod band is effected at the periphery of the ring coil in such a manner that it returns to the inner periphery of the ring coil at approximately the same place as it leaves it. The distance between the guide rollers is naturally the same everywhere and consequently the slackness or tension relief caused by the bulges of the coil is uniform all round the coil.

I claim:

1. A method of continuously storing spread fabric webs for heat-, steam-, wet-, and other treatments, said method comprising guiding a fabric web continuously along a circular path to form a rotating completely homogeneous ring coil consisting of a plurality of layers of the Web which move progressively along said circular path, each web portion being fed to said coil at a point upon the outer side thereof and passing through all of said layers to the inner side thereof, While compensating for the difference in speed between the outer layers and the inner layers of said coil While guiding said coil solely by supporting said inner side thereof by uniformly spaced cylindrical circularly disposed supports, whereby a fulling effect uniformly distributed over the periphery of the coil and uniformly acting upon inwardly moving coils thereof without forming folds in the web is produced which causes said compensation in speed difference, said fulling effect being produced by the ratio between the mean diameter of the coil and the thickness of the coil, said ratio being at most equal to 1:50, and withdraw ing the web from the coil into the interior of the coil.

2. A method of continuously storing spread fabric webs for heat-, steam-, wet-, and other treatments said method comprising guiding a fabric web continuously along a circular path to form a rotating completely homogeneous ring coil consisting of a plurality of layers of the web which move progressively along said circular path, each web portion being fed to said coil at a point upon the outer side thereof and passing through all of said layers to the inner side thereof, the ratio between the mean diameter of the coil and the thickness of the coil being greater than 1:50, while compensating for the difference in speed between the outer layers and the inner layers of said coil by guiding said coil by supporting solely said inner side thereof by a stable supporting surface having the shape'of a band-like continuous cylinder having a single ubstantially small gap and extending over substantially the entire inner side of the coil, and withdrawing said web from said coil inwardly through said p- 3. A method of continuously storing spread fabric webs for heat-, steam-, wet-, and other treatments, said methods comprising guiding a fabric web continuously along a circular path to form a rotating completely homogeneous ring coil consisting of a plurality of layers of the web which move progressively along said circular path, each web portion being fed to said coil at a point upon the outer side thereof and passing through all of said layers to the inner side thereof, while compensating for the difference in speed between the outer layers and the inner layers of said coil by guiding said coil solely by supporting the entire inner side thereof by outwardly curved supporting surfaces having uniformly spaced recesses, the ratio of the width of said recesses to the thickness of said coil being such that the web forms bulges in said recesses without forming folds and by a fulling effect uni- 5 formly distributed over the periphery of the coil and uniformly acting upon inwardly moving coils thereof without forming folds in the Web, and Withdrawing the web from the coil into the interior of the coil, said bulges increasing the fulling effect when said coil has a substantial thickness.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Koch June 29, 1937 Frederick Sept. 6, 1938 Duskes Apr. 7, 1942 Price July 21, 1942 Lawrence May 4, 1943 Streeter May 16, 1944 Rice Ian. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy Nov. 23, 1950 France Aug. 25, 1954 

